Abused
by Shine Like Rae
Summary: Orihime was always able to hide the truth behind her long sleeves, until Ichigo came along. AU


Yes I know I should be posting for Promise but I can't update that until my friend proofreads the chapter for me, which should be up by Friday. All I can tell you is, I hope you enjoy this new story, which I'm a lot more confident about. :)

Abused

She cleaned the small kitchen spotless not only because it desperately needed attention but because her father liked it that way. She didn't want to give him any reason to come home and cause trouble, though no matter how many times she tried to prevent it, things always seemed to go terrible for her once he stepped through the door.

She was putting the last of the dishes away when she heard him come home from work. She couldn't help but flinch at the sound of the loud metal apartment door slamming shut, through careful not to drop the white china. She was punished severely if she broke anything.

"Work today was a fuckin' mess!" He shouted as he kicked his shoes off and fell on the living room couch. "That bitch of a manager was giving me a hard time!" He put his feet up on the coffee table and clicked on the television. "Where's dinner?" He yelled at his daughter.

She pulled out a round bowl and scooped out rice from the steam pot. Knowing he would complain if she didn't, she pulled out two bottles of beer and sat it on the coffee table in front of him.

She tried not to talk to him as much as possible. She learned if she asked for anything or complained he would lose his temper.

"This is all I get?" He yelled at the girl while looking down at his food. "I go to work twelve hours a day and all I get is a bowl of plain rice!"

Her silver eyes grew wide as fear overtook her. "G-gomenasai." She stuttered, wondering if she should even speak at this point. "You haven't been grocery shopping so I..."

He cut her off with a loud tone. "So I have to do the shopping too!" He hollered back even louder. "I work my ass off all day and you want me to go shopping?" He yanked himself off the couch and inched towards his daughter slowly.

She took a small step back, though she knew there was no escape. "I-if you give me the money I could..."

Again he cut her mid sentence. "So you want me to give you money too!" He was now in her face, looking down at her as if she were pray. "Why don't you get a job, you piece of shit!" With all his might, he pushed into her shoulders, knocking her backwards.

As she fell she reach out hoping to grab onto something, anything that could keep her from falling, but it only made things worse. Her hand unknowingly grabbed onto the dish rack, causing all the glasses to shatter and break around her. She looked up at her father with apologetic filled eyes, but she knew that wouldn't change anything.

He was going to beat her.

...

...

Ichigo walked into the classroom with the same ole boring expression on his face. He casually made his way to his seat in the back, ignoring the chatter and actions of his fellow classmate. Though he didn't show it, he absolutely loved his seat next to the open window. This had to have been the hottest spring Karakura had ever experienced and since the school's AC couldn't be turned on until summer, Ichigo would be the first to feel the cool temperature of the spring breeze, though that didn't make 'paying attention in class' any easier.

With nothing else to do, He propped his elbow on the desk and rested his head in his palm, trying to enjoy the few minutes he had before his teacher came in. Though without noticing, his brown eyes came across a girl entering the classroom, Orihime Inoue.

Ichigo didn't really know the girl. To him, she was just another classmate, a classmate that stood out more than the rest. She was known for being smart, beautiful and quiet. He didn't even know what her voice sounded like. The teacher learned not to call on her to answer a question because she wouldn't say a single word, no matter how many times the teacher would try to scare her with detention, she remained silent. Though she always scored the highest on tests and exams.

Though Ichigo saw her as a beautiful girl, she was quite odd. Even in warm heat like this, she chose to wear the winter uniform that covered up her arms, and white thigh high socks that hid her slim legs. Ichigo was burning up just in his short sleeve shirt, so he knew she must have been hot.

She walked down the aisle and took the seat in front of Ichigo like she always did. The seating arrangement had been like that since the beginning of the year and never had she said a single word to him, which didn't bother Ichigo at all.

...

There were fifteen minutes left til school ended, which meant Ichigo had his eyes glued to the clock, counting down the seconds until it was finally time for him to leave. He already had his Friday afternoon planned out, go home, play Xbox, eat dinner, then go to sleep. Yup that sounded like the perfect way for him to spend his Friday.

"Before I wrap class up, I have a project to give out." Spoke the teacher in front of the class.

Everyone, including Ichigo, let out a loud sigh.

"Sorry, but you should have saw this one coming." She said with a wag of her finger. "You will be creating a video documentary on your life." She explained "You'll be partnering up with the person sitting behind you, so you'll have to choose who's life is going to be documented on film."

'**CRAP****!'** Ichigo thought.

"There isn't any excuse why anyone can't complete this project. With today's technology, creating a video and copying it a DVD shouldn't be a problem. The project will be due in two weeks, just enough time for it to be apart of your semester grade." She looked down at her watch, checking the time. "I'll give you the rest of class to discuss with your partner how you will be completing your assignment."

Ichigo mentally started to panic. He didn't have anyone sitting behind him which only meant, he would be partnering up with Orihime, the worst person he could ever be partnered up with. Hell, he'd rather be partners with Keigo then her, at least Keigo knew how to freakin talk!

"S-so I guess we're partners?"

Ichigo looked up and saw that Orihime had turned around in her desk and... and she fuckin talked! It was low and shy but soft and feminine sounding at the same time. "Yeah, I guess so." Was all he managed to say.

A few moments later Orihime had her number written on a half sheet of paper. "Y-you can call me." She spoke as low as she possibly could. "I-if you're not busy we can start tomorrow, ne?"

Ichigo had swallowed the lump that grew in his throat. Orihime truly was a beautiful girl, thought he wondered just how difficult she would be to work with. What if she randomly decided to not speak to him while in the middle of working on their project? He mustered up a fake half smile. "Sure I guess." He agreed. "The earlier the better..."

...

...

Short and to the point, you know that's exactly how I like it. I feel so bad for putting Orihime through all that, but thats what Ichigo is there for. :)

Also I do not own Bleach nor the characters in this story, sadly.

Until next time.

-Rae-


End file.
